Panel fading with pastels

Modeling Subjects Aircraft
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A couple of issues ago Finescale mag ran an article where pastel chalks were used for fading and weathering selected panels on aircraft. Has anyone here actually tried this, and if so how did it turn out? Some of the photos accompanying the story looked fairely heavy handed with the guy shown applying the pastel stick directly to the model. I haven’t been game to try this as I’m worried about scratching up my paint job. Then he describes how an artists “blending stick” or even 1200 grit emery paper can be used to gently rub the chalk into the finish. Anyone tried it?

Cheers…Snowy

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Snowy…do you have access to any of FSM’s…“How to…” books ?
i can’t specifically itentify any particular one at the moment but, many of them have varying hints and tips about using chalk pastels for weathering…

from my experience, stay away from oil pastels…they aren’t forgiving…

i use varying sized brushes having cut the bristles way down to “stubby” size…
with some sort of blade, scrape along the pastel colour of your choice so thay you have a little pile of powder and using a stubby (size choice is yours) and apply the chalk to the surface of your choice (on a matt coat for best adhesion) in the direction of the airflow over the aircraft…panels…gear wells…engine exhaust…anywhere oil and grime might exude, seep or leak out…
with your finger or a soft cloth wipe off excess or wipe all away and start over adding little by little until you get the effect you’re looking for…
for me pastels are easier than airbrushing and i believe i get the same results…

by the by…never tried the artist’s blending thingy…but, why not ?

experiment…experiment…

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ok let me add a question. is this method good for nmf. in particular foil. i wasnt very happy with my weathering job on my p-38j recently and want to do something different on the mustang i am going to be starting.

joe

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I just finished using this method for the first time on a P-47D. In FSM the guy says to apply the pastel directly to the model, but I found it worked best if I shaved a bit of pastel off the stick then applied some of the dust with a cotton bud. All you have to do to blend it is to keep rubbing until you get the effect you want.

I tried applying it directly to the model but the pastel scratched the paint and didn’t blend in very well. It wasn’t very hard at all to apply and makes a boring OD over NG scheme look a little more interesting.

On an olive drab aircraft I used pale yellow to lighten some panels and black for exhausts and gun stains. On some panels I tried using a pale green and a light brown for some variation.

This is a link to the thread with pics of my P-47 if you wanna see how it turned out.
http://www.finescale.com/fsm/community/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=23486

If you can, get soft pastels, not the hard ones. The soft ones are alot easier to work with.

hope this helps.

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fightnjoe, pastels work fine on BMF, as long as you apply a matte finish first over the foil, but they wont stick to bare BMF.

I use hard pastels and make fine powder by rubbing the end of the chalk stick in a circular motion on 150 grit sandpaper. I then use the piece of sandpaper like an artist’s pallette and apply the pastel powder to the model with a variety of brushes, and I often blend the colors until I get the effect I want.

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besides patel, you can also use ground oil paint base color - they come in good size jars.
preground real fine and double as a wash when mixed with turps. The colors are very strong so a little goes a long way. There is enough powder in these jars to last a life time.

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Pastels have been my weapon of choice for weathering and for a long time I used nothing but. I’ve never applied pastels directly to a model by rubbing the stick or block onto it, I’ve always used a specific selection of brushes.

Here’s some examples of pastels at work on a model:


Direct Link


Direct Link

Sorry for the poor photography, I ain’t my Dad!!! Now there was a photographer…

Anyhoo, this Hurri was painted overall black and any tonal variations you see (which are, unfortunately, mostly washed out in these shots) were achieved using pastels.


Direct Link

This thing was built over ten years ago before I had learned the ‘subtle’ art of weathering! [:p] So it’s a bit heavy handed in many ways, especially the paint chipping and scuffs and so forth. But it’s an excellent example of the use of pastels…

I had painted this thing in a scheme which was supposed to be BraunViolet on the upper surfaces. At the time, the ‘new’ formula of Micro Flat had been released and I decided to give it a try, finding out the hard way that even applied in light coats it had adverse effects on a model. In this case, the entire thing turned a color which was akin to a washed out Panzer Gray!! Needless to say I was pi**ed and in the mood to firebomb Microscale Industries. In the end it was probably my relative inexperience at the time which caused this, but…

Since all the color was gone from my 262 I decided to experiment a bit, so both the tonal variations and all the colors you see on this model were achieved using pastels. Anyhoo, it’s since become a testbed and I’ll use it for trying out various things now and again…

I mentioned a specific selection of brushes; I use only what are known as ‘Cat’s Tongue’ brushes. These are fairly wide brushes which have a thin cross-section and which are rounded at the top, ie; they look something like a cat’s tongue. These brushes are a good compromise between firmness and flexibility of the bristles and are quite diverse.

As to technique, I wrote an article years ago explaining the techniques which I had developed and if I can dig it up I may post it on the forum somewhere. This bit about rubbing the chalk into the finish with any sort of abrasive paper, especially the finer grits, isn’t as horrifying as it sounds; it makes sense, actually. Although I have never tried it myself…

In the end, though, the best advice anyone can give is to experiment and practice with a number of techniques and see what you like best…

Fade to Black…

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steve those are excellent. we want more.

joe

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Snowy -

Chalk pastels are the easiest way I know of to weather aircraft. After the model is built, it get a clear gloss coat, for decalling, rigth? I put on the decals, let them set for a few days, then there are two ways to proceed. If I need to experiment, I go to the pastels, at this point. I take a stubby brush, and just paint the pastel stick a few times. This tranfers the pastel powder to the brush, and then I “paint” the weathering or streaks where ever I need them. If I don’t like it, it comes right off, and I start over. I make them a little heavier than necessary, and then spray with the final dull coat. (You have to go a litle heavier, as the dull coat will disolove the chalk, and so, lighten the weathering, somewhat.) If it’s a know project, I dull coat first, then weather as above. The pastels adhear better to the dull finish than to the gloss. You can still get it off, but a damp cloth might be necessary.

Archer out.